Grain-car door



' J. SIEMSEN. GRAIN CAR DOOR. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 17,1921.

Patented July 4, 1922. 2 SHE ETSSH EET I J. SIEMSEN.

GRAIN CAR'DOOR. APPLICATION F| LED NOV. 11, 1921.

0 v Amma W. 2

SFATEQ JURG-EN SIEIVLSEN, OF BROKEN BOW, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR TO BERTON C.EMPFIELD, OF BROKEN BOW, NEBRASKA.

GRAIN-CAR DOOR.

Application filed November 17, 1921.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JURGEN SIEMsnN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Broken Bow, in the county ofCuster and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Grain- Car Doors; and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to an improved door for. use in connection with agrain car and one object of the invention is to provide a door for thegrain or freight car slidably mounted in an improved manner and movaableinto and out of a protected housing and to further provide improvedoperating means for the door, the operating means including an actuatingbar serving not only as actuating means for the door operating means butfurther serving as means for locking the door in a closed position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a door operating meansincluding a driving shaft and improved type of bearing bracket for thedriving shaft having one end portion constructed for engagement by aturning bar so that the turning bar can be held against movement andthus lock the shaft against rotation.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved manner ofmounting the actuating bar upon the drive shaft, the bar being somounted upon the shaft that it may be loosely-mounted thereon or held inturning engagement with the shaft.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide a grain car constructionin which the door may bevery easily moved to an open or a closedposition and may be securely locked in the closed position so that itcannot accidentally move towards an open position.

i This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view showing a portion of a grain or freight car in sideelevation and provided with a door and door-operating means of theimproved construction.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but looking from within the car.

. Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 33 ofFig. 2.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July a, 1322.

Serial No. 515,891.

Figure 4; is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 1 4 ofFig. 1.

Figure 5 is an enlarged view in elevation Isjhowing the drive shaft andactuating lever Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken alongthe line 66 of Fig. 5.

Figure 7 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 77 of Fig.5.

Figure 8 is an enlarged view showing the lever bar positioned forturning engagement with the drive. shaft.

Figure 9 is a View similar to Fig. 8 showing the bar when moved out ofturning engagement with the shaft.

The car 1 is of the ordinary freight car construction and is providedwith a doorway 2 which will be closed by the door 3. This door 3 fitsinto a housing 4 secured against the inner face of the wall of the carand rests upon a track or rail 5 which extends across the doorway. Anabutment strip 6 is provided at the opposite side of the doorway so thatsliding movement of the door will be limited. A longitudinally extendinggroove or pocket 3 is provided in the door 3 and strips 7 and 8 arepositioned in this groove or pocket 3. The upper strip 7 is providedwith teeth as shown in Fig. 1 and constitutes a rack bar which will beengaged by the pinion 9 mounted upon the inner end portion of a driveshaft 10. This drive shaft 10 is rotatably mounted in a bearing sleeve11 carried by a bearing bracket 12 which is secured upon the outer faceof the car wall and is provided with an outstanding arm 13 at one end.This arm 13 is provided with an opening to receive one end of a leverbar as will be hereinafter brought out. The drive shaft 10 is providedwith an enlargement 14 for engaging the outer face of the bearingbracket and holdingthe shaft against longitudinal sliding movementthrough the sleeve 11 and the outer end-portion of this shaft is firstreduced to provide a section 15 which is squared in cross section andthen further reduced to provide a section 16 which is circular in crosssection and provided with a slot 17. The outer end portion of the shaftis provided with a head 18 so that the lever or turning bar 19 will beheld upon the shaft. This. turning bar 19 is provided at one end With ahead 20 having an opening 21 to receive the drive shaft. This opening 21is rectangular for the greater portion of its length and at one end isprovided with a semi-circular extension 22. From an inspection of Figs.8 and 9, it will be seen that the portion 15 of the shaft which isrectangular in cross section will fit into the major portion of theopening 21 and that the reduced portion 16 of the shaft which iscircular in cross section will fit into the semicircular end portion ofthis opening. Therefore, when the turning bar is positioned upon thereduced portion 16 of the shaft, the bar will be loosely mounted uponthe shaft and will have sufficient longitudinal movement to permit thebar to be moved into and out of the opening formed in the arm 18 of thebracket 12.

/Vhe n the door is to be closed or opened, the turning bar can be placedupon the squared portion of the shaft and the shaft can be easilyrotated. As the shaft rotates, the pinion by engagement with the rackbar 7 will impart longitudinal sliding movement to the door and the doorwill be moved to an open or a closed position according to the directionin which the shaft is rotated. Vith the door in a closed position, theturning bar can be moved onto the reduced portion 16 of the shaft andthe bar then moved to position this reduced portion in the semicircularextension 22 of the opening 21. In this position, the bar can be swunginto alinement with the opening in the arm 13 and can then be moved toextend the end of the bar into this opening. The head of the bar canthen be moved onto the squared portion of the shaft and the shaft willbe held against rotation. In order to permit of the bar being held uponthis squared portion of the shaft, there has been provided a securingpin 23 which will be preferably.

further that by means of this bar, the shaft can belocked against rotarymovement and thusthe door retained m a closedposition. In'some caseswhen movmgthe door to an open position, the door can be partially opened.by means of the turning bar and then can be, pushed open with theturning bar hanging loose upon the reduced portion 16 of the shaft. Itwill thus be seen that there has been provided a car door havingimproved operating means by .means of which the door can be very easilymoved to an opened or a closed position and further there has beenprovided an operating means including a bar serving both as means forturning the shaft and as means for looking the shaft against rotation.

I claim: V

1. A car having a doorway, a door slidable into and out of position forclosing the doorway, actuating means for the door including a bracketcarried by the wall of the car and having anoutstanding arm, a rotatableshaft extending through the wall of the car, a turning and locking barloosely mounted upon said shaft and movable longitudinally thereof froma position permitting free swinging of the bar upon the shaft to aposition causing rotation of the shaft when the bar is swung, the barwhen in the first position being movable longitudinally of itself tobring its free end into and out of engagement with the outstanding armof the bracket, the bar when engaged with the outstanding arm being heldagainst swinging movement upon the shaft,and means for releasablyholding the bar in the second men tioned positionupon the shaft to holdthe shaft against turning when the bar. is in engagement with the arm ofthe bracket. 7

2. A car having a doorway, a door slidably mounted for moving into andout of a position for closing the doorway, a bracket carried by the wallof the car and having an outstanding perforated arm, actuating means forthe door including a rotatable shaft extending through the door andhaving its outer portion provided with a non-circular portion and areduced portion adjacent the non-circular portion, a turning and lockingbar fitting loosely upon the outer end portion of said shaft formovement longitudinally .thereof and having a shaft-receiving.

opening having a portion conforming to the contour of the non-circularportion of the shaft and adapted to fit thereonto impart turningmovementto the shaft, the opening of the bar having a side extension forreceiving the reduced portion of the shaft andv permitting the bar tomove longitudinally of itself to move its free endinto and out of theperforation of the bracket arm, and means for releasablyholding the .barupon the non-circular portion of the shaft with the free end portion ofthe bar extending into. theperforations of the arm of said brackettohold the shaft against rotation with the door in an adjusted position. I

3. A car having a doorway, a housing extendingfrom the doorwayagainstthe Wall of the car, a track extending from the housing acrossthe doorway, a door. slidableinto and out of the housing and movableacross the doorway upon the/track, a rack carried.

by said door, a bracket carried by the wall of said car and having atone end an outstanding perforated arm and at the other end a'bear ingembedded in the car wall, a shaft journalled in said bearing and havingits outer portion provided with a portion rectangular in cross sectionand adjacent the rectangular portion having a reduced port-ion circularin cross section, a pinion carried by the inner end portion of saidshaft and engaging said rack bar, an actuating and locking bar having ahead fitting upon the outer portion of said shaft and having a shaftreceiving opening having a rectangular por tion for receiving therectangular portion of the shaft and a semi-circular portion forreceiving the circular portion of the shaft, and means for releasablyholding said bar upon the rectangular portion of said shaft with thefree end of the bar fitting into the perforated arm of said bracket.

4. A structure having a doorway, a door slidable into and out ofposition to close the doorway, a rack carried by the door, a bracketcarried by the wall of the structure and hav ing at one end anoutstanding perforated arm, a shaft extending through the door andhaving its outer portion provided with a non-circular portion andadjacent the noncircular portion having a reduced portion, a pinioncarried by the inner end portion of the shaft and engaging the rack bar,and an actuating and locking bar having one end portion provided with ashaft-receiving opening having a portion for receiving the non-circularportion of the shaft and asemicircular portion for receiving the reducedportion of the shaft whereby said bar may be moved longitudinally of theshaft from one portion thereof to the other and moved longitudinally ofitself to move its free end into and out of the perforation of theoutstanding arm of the bracket.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

J URGEN SIEMSEN.

